blondietink
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2008
Just left AULANI and are now on Maui. Thoughts are we like Hawaii better in the fall than in the spring. Warmer water in the ocean and lower crowds. Never had a problem finding a lounger, or 4 together by the pool, even as late as noon. By then many families were leaving for lunch and there was even more of a choice. Never saw anybody checking or tagging chairs.
We opted to stay longer and booked an island view 1 bedroom.. Assigned 16th floor villa 1653 and couldn't be happier. Had a view of the mountains, ocean on the right and Diamond Head in the distance.
Went to Paradise Cove for the luau and had a blast. Used the coupon out of the Entertainment book for 25% off.
Only saw movie night once on the lawn on the schedule all week. The rest of the time it was either their luau or the lawn was empty.
Lazy River closes at 6 pm. Pools close at 8 pm. Both too early for us.
Still don't like the barbeque area and the limited times and utensils.
Photos photographers were great and around all the time. Pools, lazy river, beach, characters, scenic shots. We had over 200 pictures taken. The DVC card also gives you a 10% discount on the photopass.
Still say the lighting in the bathrooms is not good. Way too dark for shaving, applying makeup, etc. Wish they would at least put in a lighted mirror.
Did online check in and when we arrived at 2 pm our room was ready. No waiting in line at the front desk. Our flight arrived late so we stayed at the Best Western at the airport to save on points. We will do this again in the future if we have a late arriving flight. Hung out at the hotel pool til checkout time at noon, then drove to Costco before heading to Aulani. The Alamo car rental is literally a block away, so next time we would get the hotel shuttle from the airport and then pick up the rental car the next day to save the $15.00 parking fee and a days car rental also.
We opted to stay longer and booked an island view 1 bedroom.. Assigned 16th floor villa 1653 and couldn't be happier. Had a view of the mountains, ocean on the right and Diamond Head in the distance.
Went to Paradise Cove for the luau and had a blast. Used the coupon out of the Entertainment book for 25% off.
Only saw movie night once on the lawn on the schedule all week. The rest of the time it was either their luau or the lawn was empty.
Lazy River closes at 6 pm. Pools close at 8 pm. Both too early for us.
Still don't like the barbeque area and the limited times and utensils.
Photos photographers were great and around all the time. Pools, lazy river, beach, characters, scenic shots. We had over 200 pictures taken. The DVC card also gives you a 10% discount on the photopass.
Still say the lighting in the bathrooms is not good. Way too dark for shaving, applying makeup, etc. Wish they would at least put in a lighted mirror.
Did online check in and when we arrived at 2 pm our room was ready. No waiting in line at the front desk. Our flight arrived late so we stayed at the Best Western at the airport to save on points. We will do this again in the future if we have a late arriving flight. Hung out at the hotel pool til checkout time at noon, then drove to Costco before heading to Aulani. The Alamo car rental is literally a block away, so next time we would get the hotel shuttle from the airport and then pick up the rental car the next day to save the $15.00 parking fee and a days car rental also.
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